Making my Nike iDs

I've been lucky recently, to say the least. About a year ago, I owned a single pair of Nikes (Nike Free 5.0 in black, if you're asking). Now, I own five.

Now there's a well worn pair of trainers!

Yep, that's right, five pairs. One for each day of the week and a pair of slippers for the weekend. I'm getting old.

Three of my pairs are iDs, with the fourth a 'thank you' present for an NFL training session at Wembley (Nike 5.0 Trainers, if you're asking).

The iD process is simple, the actual undertaking is not. Log-in, choose your shoes, and then spend an age agonising about exactly how they're to look.

Don't forget, these are a pair of shoes that define you - as you're the one who made them!

Left to my own devices, I choose the conservative option. My Lunar Flyknits and my Free Flyknits, both black. But I've tried my best to push my own creativity and go for some bold colours. The Lunars are orange, while the Frees glow in the dark - honest, they do!

The third pair - the first iDs I ever made - are a little different. Working with Pendleton, we were convinced / persuaded / encouraged to push the boat out a little. So they're green, grey, and red, with a large white sole.

A very different pair, I worried for weeks that they'd look terrible, and that's the 'problem' (read: fun) of iDs - the panic over what the trainers will look like in the end.

I needn't have worried and I don't care what anyone else thinks, these are without doubt my favourite pair of trainers. Hopefully they'll last me a few more years before I'm back on the Nike iD website yet again.

Pendleton x NikeiDs x ASOS

When I was a kid, designing your own trainers involved colouring them in with felt-pen. Honestly, there was a trainer you could buy made specifically for the purpose. Totally white, with some (probably poisonous) luminous pens that would stain your sneakers, fingers, sofa, and walls.

Oh well, I'm sure it's done me no harm. If I even had a pair, that is.

NikeiDs take this ace idea and do it properly.

From their website, you can customise your trainers however you like - and I do mean HOWEVER you like. The choice of options is ridiculous. From the eyelets, to the laces, to the colours of the specks on the sole, everything is up for grabs, even the name on the back (or tongue)!

We were lucky enough to get some help with the design. Some of Nike's finest folks to guide us throw the process, a beer, and a donut, all served up at ASOS HQ in North London. The one stipulation, or rather encouragement, was that we used Pendleton fabrics.

I know what you're thinking. Nike, ASOS, and now Pendleton? How many brands does one trainer need? And who are Pendleton?

The first answer is yes, the second three, and the third, check out Pendleton's history here.

Pendleton are a brand that Americans know very well, but hasn't had much in the way of exposure over here. It's a shame. We're really missing out. Their shirts are brilliant and fit right in with my love of Levi's and Red Wing. Basically, a classic American workwear brand. Perfect!

Anyway, being given some fabrics to play with in the design of the trainer was actually quite fun, rather than restraining. At least it gave me somewhere to start, rather than the completely blank slate available to anyone visiting the NikeiD website.

We're back at that felt-pen training again or perhaps I'm just someone who needs a helping hand when it comes to creativity.

Either way, I'm very pleased with my trainers, so much so I'm making another pair...more on that soon.

Image: My Instagram (mostly).